


That One Accident

by The_Midnight_Elements



Category: The Big Bang Theory (TV)
Genre: Accidents, Dark Sheldon, F/M, Laboratories, Revenge
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-21
Updated: 2019-04-22
Packaged: 2019-05-26 08:19:37
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 8
Words: 14,465
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14996699
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Midnight_Elements/pseuds/The_Midnight_Elements
Summary: It was always said that Sheldon Cooper was one lab accident way from being a super villain. That should have been a warning, should have been an deterrent. Instead, they ignored it. Now they were right. Now they get to expierence first hand just how a corrupted Genius get revenge.





	1. Petty Actions, Horrific Consequences

Everyone said that he was one lab accident away from being a super villain. They would never know how right they were about that. They were unsuspecting and unprepared for how he turned out after that fateful day. He looked down at the woman that was lying in the hospital bed. He kissed her brow as the heartbeat monitor gave off the rhythmic beat that told him that she was still alive. His large hand smoothed her gold locks off her head. He inwardly flinched when he saw the stitches on her forehead, near her temple. His hands dropped back down to his sides before taking their traditional place behind his back.

 _Why? Why of all days did you have to visit?_ When he closed his eyes, his eidetic memory replayed everything that happened that fateful day over and over again. His eyes snapped open, grief making his eyes solemn, as he mentally went over all the alteration he had made in his life to accommodate her.But now she laid in a coma and he could only think of the void his life now had. 

 _All because of them._ His mind hissed in rage as his hands clenched into fists.

* * *

_**Four Days Prior** _

"I am telling you that the adjustments I made are perfectly fine. All it will do it snap a bit and stop, nothing more. It will just make sure he won't use it for a while. I promise Leonard, I know what I am doing. I am an Engineer" Howard said to his friend as he checked the machine once more. He did some non-damaging tweaks to the machine so that it would scare Sheldon but not cause any damage to their lanky friend or the million dollar machine. Leonard looked a little skeptical for a moment but if it kept Sheldon out of his way for a while, he would do it.

"Okay…come on, lets get out of here. Sheldon will be here any moment" Leonard said as he pushed his glasses up his nose and shifted his messenger bag on his back. They were heading down the hall when Sheldon turned the corner.

"Oh, hello there Comrades, where are you two coming from?" Sheldon inquired, more to fulfill social obligations than anything else.

"Oh well…we were just going to the lab, but then we remember it is your time to~" Howard started before he was interrupted.

"Hey MoonPie! I came to see what you were working on. Plus, I wanted to tell you all about that amazing acting job I got on that Sy-Fy TV series~!" Penny said as she came up behind the tall man. Sheldon rolled his eyes and shot Penny an exasperated look. Leonard muttered something before leaving, clearly still uncomfortable being in Penny presence since their break up. Howard followed quickly, pausing only to give Penny a leer.

"What's with them?" She said as the two seemed to tuck tails and run away. She could kind of understand Leonard, but Howard seemed a little more

"One, don't call me MoonPie. Two, probably Leonard is missing the coitus you two had during your disaster of a relationship." Sheldon said as he walked into the lab. He set his bag down and went over to inspect his work area. Once finding nothing re-missed, he began to set up the machine. He set the machine to slowly warm up to ensure that there were no issues with the start up procedure. It effortlessly reach full capacity. The turbine spun at full speed. Sheldon turned around to see Penny sitting on a stool watching him with curious eyes. He shrugged and flipped the switch of the laser part of the machine. The laser moved and hit the quartz triangle. He angled the quartz, sending the high powered laser at the material he was testing.

"Whatcha doing MoonPie?"

"I am testing the properti~." A strange noise caused him to turn around, he noticed that the turbine was shifting on it's axis just a bit, which caused the laser's direction to begun to fluctuate. Fear gripped him as he watched the laser bounce up and down the spans of the quartz, still within safe parameters. His mind began to quickly calculate how long it would take before the off axis turbine to send the laser outside the limits. Nausea gripped him when the results of those calculation came to the forefront of her mind. He raced to turn the machine off before it got to that state. But the emergency switch wasn't working.

Now the situation went from bad to worse in a few seconds as the results of his calculation came to life. The bouncing laser bounced up just enough to hit the highly flammable bottles of material. Instantly they exploded as the turbine finally spun out of control. Everything was either bursting into flames, exploding or hitting the floor. The runaway laser was cutting through materials, burning into the walls and cutting into shelves. He turned and yanked Penny off her stool, since she was stuck in shock. They were almost to the door when the machine finally fell off the table. The laser shot near their arms, burning their arms before hitting the ceiling fans. The roof, now unstable collapsed. Sheldon remembered seeing a piece of it hit Penny's head before he fell on top of her and darkness consumed his vision.

* * *

 

A day later to find himself in the hospital. His arm was heavily bandaged to protect the 3rd degree burns. The rest of his body was littered with bruises, scratches, and stitches. But over all no broken bones, no memory lose, and no sense of what the hell had happened. He looked over to find his mother there, praying in her chair.

"Mom…"

"Oh Shelly~! The Lord has answered my prayers, your awake and well~! Oh Blessed lord, I thought I would lose you. How are you? Do you remember what happened?"

"I am not suffering from any form of memory lose. How is Penny?" He asked, wanting to know how she faired after all of this. He would, in due time, also want to know how this came to be. He watched as his mother's face fell. His heart began to race as fear gripped him. Something was clearly wrong.

"Shelly…Dear now don't get worked up….but dear she is in a coma. She got hit on the head by a piece of the ceiling." His face must have shown his distress because his mother was soon trying to placate him.

"The doctors are hopeful though. That she'll make a full recovery." His mother patted his hand, as if that would make it alright.

"H-how?" He asked, knowing very well how she had ended up in that state, but he more meant how could this had happened to them. Obviously his mother understood what he meant from the look of disgust and rage on her face.

"Well your Friends, Howard and Leonard thought it would be a good idea to change something in that machine. Turns out for all their smarts they didn't know what they were really doing with such a complex machine. Seems that whatever they did caused everything to collapse in that thing." His mother said in a grave tone. Sheldon felt something grip him.

"Leonard and Howard….are the reason why…..Penny and I are…..in the hospital…the reason why Penny may very well die?" His voice, which normally would have gone more shrill with his distress, seemed to drop by an octave with each word he spoke. His blue eyes were almost black with hatred at that point.

"No dear, they didn't mean to cause so much damage. The police already spoke with them. While they did tamper with the machine, there is no way to prove that what they did actually caused the accident."

"SO THEY GET TO WALK FREE~!" Some how he found the strength to get out of bed. He stared at his mom with a murderous gaze.

"Now Shelly, you calm down, you hear? They got a serious fine and the university has suspended them." His mother snapped, not wanting her little Shelly to work himself up and re-injure himself somehow.

"Penny is in a COMA mother, one she may not wake from and you think that is ENOUGH punishment for their transgressions?" He said darkly. His mother was taken back by his demeanor. Never before had she seen him act this way, not even when the neighbor kids beat him up. She gathered herself, focusing on him for now.

"It is the Lord's job to deal out punishments Shelly, not humans. They will get their dues in Heaven." His mother stood and pulled him back to bed. He laid down as his mother wanted, allowed the doctors to look him over. All the while the images of Penny just before the accident as well as during played across his mind over and over again. Her fear and her broken form were all he knew in those moments. Soon they were replaced by all the working knowledge of the universe and he planned to use it for a very different purpose than before. The Nobel Prize could wait. Revenge could not. Not while Penny was still lying in some bed in this hospital hanging on for dear life. No, they would feel the pain and fear they inflicted up Penny and himself.

Sheldon knew his life was going to have to take a different path for a while, but so long as there was hope that Penny came out of this, it would not be a permanent change. He let himself fall asleep, knowing the next couple of days would be tireless, for he would have to find a new residence. Not really for him to live in, but more for a place to work on his revenge without tipping off Leonard. That way when he said he was going out to do some work, it wouldn't be lying. They would never see it coming. They would think that a simple apology would suffice, but they would be so very wrong.


	2. Methodology of Revenge

Sheldon stood outside the house he had just bought. It was a lovely place. There was a beautiful garden, a wrap around porch and a basement to accompany the other two stories. It was sad that he would be using such a lovely place as a base of operation for his revenge. He unlocked the place that would, hopefully, bring about the end of Leonard and Howard. He found the house to be still set up like it had been when he viewed the home. He recalled that the realtor had said he would be getting all the items with the house. A plus for him, but not one that really mattered. He didn't bother to inspect the house, rather he headed straight to the door that led to the basement. He descended the stairs into the basement where his revenge would come to fruition.

He walked into the basement, making note that the stairs would have to be replaced with metal stairs that could be changed into a ramp with a press of a button. As he stood in the threshold of the basement, he was once again reminded the reason why he bought this particular house. It was because the basement encompassed the entirety of the bottom house. It was open to whatever his usage maybe. The only things in the basement was the water heater, the fuse box, a washing machine and the dryer.

"Perfect. Now to start laying out the floor plan." He said, pulling out a bag of chalk. He began to outline, on the ground, where all the equipment would be set up. He drew where a table, his white boards and all the other pieces of equipment would be. He paused in his work, thinking of a very critical piece of information. He walked up to the fuse box for the entire house. He opened it and gave it a once over, checking to see if the house would be able to handle the electrical load he would be putting on it. Apparently it wouldn't, but that was an easy fix.

Once he was done he checked his watch, making note of the time. He would have to get home in a couple of minutes in order to avoid suspicion. He would maintain his schedule's outward appearance but what he did during those hours would be unknown to anyone. He gave the room a once over before he nodded, finding that it met his specifications. He walked back up the the main floor. He grabbed his messenger bag he had laid on the chair and started to leave when a thought crossed his mind.

Sheldon looked up the stairs, going over some mental calculations before he ascended the stairs to the second floor. He walked into the room that was connected to the master bedroom. It was quant and already set up with a canopy bed, a matching dresser, night stand and book shelf. He walked in and sat on the bed. He took that moment to think about what it would be like if Penny woke up and lived in this house with him. He knew he was fantasizing, but he could not help it. He and Penny had started to grow closer these days. There were more hugs, more soft touches and more understanding between them. They had slowly become each other's confidant and companion.

While Penny still had Amy as her 'Bestie', Penny still seemed to want to hang out with him more often. Even though they were vastly different people, they had the same set of ideals. They believed in family, success, hard work, friendship, and compassion. He even noticed Penny stopped going out as much and instead spent more time with him. They were getting close to actually talking about shifting the paradigm of their friendship. But then….

A flash of Penny's face, the contorted look of pain that spread there, as fear colored those green eyes. For the first time in his life, he cursed his eidetic memory. He would never be able to forget the devastation that came with Penny's pain. All because his supposed 'friends' wanted to use a stupid machine. They had ruined everything with their petty underhanded actions. He had been so close to having the, as the colloquialism went, the best of both worlds. He had been so close to having a girlfriend who liked his strange ways and put up with his ritualized life. Who gave him as much sass as he dished out. But now he was left with the pieces of that life. He looked out the window, staring at the sky and did he one thing that he never thought he would do. He prayed. He prayed to whoever or whatever was listening, be it a God or a sub particle. But he prayed that Penny lived through her coma, and recovered from it. For he knew that if she did not, that he would never stop. He would never go back to the life he had prior to the accident.

He stood up and walked out of the room, a grim look set on his face. He caught the bus back home, making note that if things were to work in his favor he would have to learn to drive as well as get a car. He was a genius, so it shouldn't be too difficult for him to do. He got off the bus and headed to his apartment. He did not look at Penny's door, knowing that if he did he would go into his apartment and extract his revenge in an animalistic way. He found Leonard, Howard and Raja sitting in the living room. Which was a typical sight, but not a welcomed one. He looked at Raja.

"Good day Rajash." That was all he said before he walked into the kitchen and pulled out a bottle of water. He had seen that look of remorse in Howard's and Leonard's eyes. Each time he had seen them, they always tried to say sorry, guilt obvious in their appearances. He did not care, he was going to remain distant and standoffish, for this was a serious offense. One that put their friend in the hospital. They never once considered the dangers of their actions. They should have said something the moment they saw that Penny had accompanied him. But instead, Leonard let his silly emotions prevent him from actually caring about the woman he claimed to have feelings for.

"Will you be joining us for Halo tonight?" Came the tentative question from Leonard. Sheldon took a drink from his water bottle before turning and leveling Leonard with a cold stare.

"I suppose I shall play even though my usual partner is in a comatose state." He felt a rush of power and pleasure at the flinch from Leonard. He was never going to stop reminding them of consequences of their actions. The inadvertent ones at least. The true consequences, the ones he was planning on delivering to them, would remain unknown. The only decent thing was that Leonard's mother had decided to pay for all of Penny's hospital expenses as well as all of her after care should she ever wake up. He finished his bottle of water and walked to his usual spot. He took the controller and set about destroying Howard and Leonard at the game. He was ruthless, making sure they knew that he was going to show no mercy. Eventually the night came to an awkward end. Sheldon bid Rajash good night before retiring to his room.

The next day he awoke and went to campus with Leonard, making sure to say nothing the entire car though Leonard, and Howard, were on suspension from the university, he still had to go to the campus to clean up the mess that had been done. It was a term that the college laid out in order for Leonard to not have his name tarnished by being tied to the accident. Leonard tried to make conversation, but he wasn't in the mood to make small talk. Not now. Not when his mind was occupied with his plans of revenge. He walked into his office, making sure to close and lock the door behind him.

He pulled out a fresh white board and wrote at the top of it; 'Methodology of Revenge'. He wrote directly underneath that the letter H and L. He stared at the board for some time before he began to write out how he would take the two men apart. Piece by piece they would crumble. It was sad, they knew he was a genius, yet that never stopped them from messing with him. The North Pole debacle was a major example of how they lacked the ability to curb their pettiness. That little incident had nearly ruined his career. He had been made a laughing stalking for about a week before he published one of his 'sub-theories' that proved the existence of a fourth wave in the Electromagnetic spectrum. It allowed for the debacle to be forgotten. They forget that he focused on String Theory because it was his passion, not because he didn't have any other ideas. He just never focused on the sub-theories until he needed a little extra income or, in this case, reverse the damage another scientist did to his reputation.

He looked back at this board, four words were written there:

'Work

Prized Possession

Sanity

Love'

He knew that it would not necessarily be in that order. It would take place at different stages and would have to be done so that no fingers could be pointed at him. But that was easily done. He knew that the first part of his plan would involve Bernadette and her engagement to Howard. It would be best to record Bernadette breaking up with Howard and put it up on YouTube for the world to see. Leonard would be a little more difficult but over all it would be easily done. He would have to prey upon Leonard's weakness for human affection and make it so that he would not be able to even get a simple hug for anyone. He would have to isolate him from the rest of the community at large. Another easy task. The hard part would making them think they were losing their minds. He was going to push them to take their own lives. He was going to make them lepers of society and make it so that their own community did not want them.

He wiped the evidence off his board and did some quick work on his String Theory. He actually got rather far. He attributed his sudden bout of inspiration to the fact he was focusing on the revenge he was going to take from Howard and Leonard. He finished up some calculations before he walked out of the office, figuring he had enough time before lunch to start his plan. He walked into the lunch room. He sat down in one chair. He looked perplexed for a moment before he reached under and began to…adjust the chair. More like he began to loosen the already loose bolt that connected the chair to its legs. He did the same on the other side before he stood up and walked to another chair. It would look weird to no one that he was doing this, because it was normal for him to act abnormal. Something he plan to use to his advantage. He finally got up and grabbed is lunch before returning to his chosen seat.

Soon after he began to eat, the rest of the group came from their own work. Their grabbed their meals and came to their seats. Raja chose his regular seat as did the other two. A couple of moments after sitting down, Leonard's seat collapse under him. Sheldon kept the pleased look from his face and looked mildly concerned instead. He already had the line he was going to use ready.

"Leonard, it seems that the chair is incapable of handling your mass, perhaps a decrease in calorie intake will alleviate that issue." With that Sheldon returned to his meal, knowing very well that Leonard was red with embarrassment as the entire lunch room snickered at Sheldon's comment. A mild step but any step was better then none. Howard looked uneasy at Sheldon before they returned to eating. The rest of lunch was uneventful, but that was fine.

He was silent on the way home, still working out how he was going to do his plan. He recalled how he had made glowing fish and thought that maybe the usage of bioluminescence with lactose free milk would help him alienate Leonard from the rest of society. It was his turn to do the grocery shopping so that gave him an opening. He smirked a little to himself as he ascended the stairs. He was about to open the door to the apartment when he heard Leonard behind him. He turned slowly and saw in horror that Leonard was opening Penny's apartment.

"God Lord, what do you think you are doing?" He screech a bit, not believing that Leonard had the gall to go into Penny's home after what he had done to her.

"I am going in and I'm going to clean up her apartment as well as check her groceries. Don't want her to come home to spoiled food." Leonard said in a sad voice. Sheldon's eyes narrowed. He did not care if Leonard felt bad that his ex was in the hospital. He didn't care that Leonard harbored feelings for the blonde. He cared that the man who claimed to be so intelligent did something so stupid and dangerous. That his actions had harmed Penny. He gave a curt nod before turning on his heels and headed inside their apartment. He closed the door behind him. He looked around the apartment before he walked into his room. He pulled out the box under his bed and pulled out the left over bioluminescence that he had from the time he had lost his job. He did a quick mental calculation and knew he had plenty to make Leonard glow like a christmas light. But he would have to add it gradually in order to make Leonard accustom to seeing himself with a soft glow. If he did it too quickly, Leonard would know something is wrong. He took the powder and walked to the bathroom, knowing Leonard would not be back for a while.

He grabbed the water bottle from last night, filling it with water and the rest of the powdered bioluminescence. He shook the bottle as he walked back into his room. He set the bottle down on his dresser and pulled out one of the craft syringes from train set. He filled the syringe with the mixture, making sure to measure out the exact amount that would be necessary to taint the Lactose free milk. Just enough to start the process. It would take a while, but soon Leonard would be glowing and those around him would avoid him for fear of getting radiation sickness. He walked over to the fridge and shook the special milk, finding a good amount to be left. He injected the mixture into the milk. He shook the carton before putting it back. He returned the syringe to his room. He set about making sure he still came off as 'crazy' by ordering the standard take out.

He leaned back into his seat, setting his hand down on the spot next to him. Penny's Spot. He had been back to the hospital to see her. He actually started a ritual of seeing her at least once a day if not once a week. He found that seeing her reminded him of the reason why he was doing all these underhanded things. Why he was going to destroy two people's lives. He clenched his hand, remembering the feel of her clammy skin against his hand when he touched her head. He hated thinking about how she was weakening each day she laid in that bed. She wouldn't be the same Penny after she awoke. If she awoke.

He jumped off of the couch and stormed to his computer. He opened the laptop and began to hack into the NASA computer system. He was discrete and worked under the radar. They were stupid lower life forms that would never be able to match his intelligence. He made it into the mainframe that operated the space telescopes. He looked through the information, searching for the one that was undergoing maintenance. He found that there was one that was undergoing serious programing maintenance. Perfect. He went through the code and added a subprogram that would be completely under the radar. It would take pictures of Howard's house periodically. He wanted to know if at any time during the week his mother left the house without Howard. That way he could break in and set up his surveillance of the home. He needed proof that Howard was not worthy of Bernadette. Once Bernadette ended the relationship with Howard, he would be vulnerable and it would take a couple more pushes and he would be planning his own suicide.

 


	3. The Unseen Work

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sheldon begins his work

Sheldon leaned over the mechanism that he had been working on for the last couple of days. After successfully reworking the satellite to take images of Howard's house, he found exactly what he was going to use in order to take down Howard's Love Life and make him a pariah among society. That was what he was working on right now. It was a small camera that would be hidden behind one of the many posters that Howard had in his would use it to record the moment when Bernadette ended her engagement with Howard. Sheldon knew very well that after the first time she caught Howard having online intercourse with an Orik, she would not tolerate or forgive a second time. No woman, according to Penny, would allow something like that to happen twice, especially after taking Howard back after breaking up with him over it. No girl dumped a guy over something and then forgave him a second time for the same action. Not girls that looked like Bernadette at least.

All he had to do was play his cards right and that started with creating another Age of Conan account. A female character, powerful and overly sexual. Those were the types that always caught Howard's eye. And it would be the type that would lead to Howard's ruin. He finished up the camera, testing it's capacity to do a live feed as well as record. A perfect combination in Sheldon's mind. Now all he had to do was place the camera and set up the account.

He gathered the necessary things into a black bag before he head back up the stairs of his new house. Setting the bag down on the table he looked over to the door that lead outside. There were a series of boxes in the door way. The boxes held the pieces for the furniture he had bought. It was just a couple of items: A book shelf and a night stand. He had gotten rid of the ones that were originally in the house. He wanted a specific feel for the room. He walked over and grabbed a long box and hauled it up the stairs. He grunted a bit when he finally got it into the room that would be Penny's. Or at least, what he hoped would be Penny's. It all depend on if….If she survived, and if she wanted to live with him. He snarled in anger, his facial muscles twitching with his distain for the predicament he found himself in. All because of jealousy. All because of envy.

He tore the box into pieces, using it at an outlet for his anger. He pulled out the instructions and mechanically began to put the book shelf together. He used the instructions as a way to just fall into the work. He didn't want to think of anything other than getting the book shelf done. He found that if he did something small for Penny everyday, it would keep him from simply pouring arsenic into Howard's and Leonard's drink the next time he saw them. He pushed the finished book shelf up against the wall, glad to see that it was a mere couple of center meters from touching the ceiling. It made the room look even more home-y and welcoming. He figured he could gather somethings from Penny's apartment and set it up in the bookshelf. That way it would have more appeal to the comatose woman.

He dusted himself off, heading back down stairs with the cardboard pieces of what were once boxes. He set the pieces of the cardboard box down and grabbed a lint roller, cleaning off the pieces of processed wood and cardboard, ensuring that the evidence was gone. He grabbed the black bag and the cardboard before he headed out. He tossed the cardboard into the recycling bin and head off toward the Wolowitz residence. Both Howard and his mother were out right now, and since he came over a significant amount, no one would suspect him of breaking and entering. He walked towards Penny's car. He had learned how to drive and since he drove with precision and accuracy the probability of being pulled over was less then likely. That was the great things about being a genius, breaking laws under the nose of the authorities was child's play. He drove to the Wolowitz's home and parked the car on the street. He got out and pulled out a pair of sunglasses, wanting to keep the glare of the car off his eyes as well as it hid his lock picking tools.

He ascended the stairs and touched the top of his sunglasses sliding off the two pieces of his sunglasses. The pieces were the tools he needed to open the door. He made the sunglasses just for this purpose. That way he would never be without a way to break into a house should he have the need or desire to do so. He effortlessly unlocked the door and walked inside. He wrinkled his nose at the oddly scented house. He never liked houses that smelt oddly. That is why he planned on making sure his house was aired out at least once a week, in order prevent the build up of strange and lingering scents.

He walked straight to Howard's room, finding no point in lingering for any reason. He needed to get in and get out. He walked into the room and made a bee line towards the poster of Slave Leia. He leaned down and undid the bottom of the poster, rolling it up before he took his sunglasses off. He popped off the side pieces and flipped out the tiny saw that was a part of the side pieces of the sunglass. He used the saw to cut into the wall, creating a small square hole. He placed the camera in it before he returned the poster into its original position. He made the hole right behind where the chain on the image would rest. He took out a push pin and poked a hole into where the lens was and pulled out his cellphone. He took a couple steps back and looked down at his phone. The video was playing and he was making sure he got a full range of the room like he needed. Once he was sure that he was getting everything he needed, he left. He made sure everything matched the image in his eidetic memory as he closed and locked the door behind him.

He returned Penny's car to it's usual parking spot, making note that Leonard still wasn't home from the college. He hated how the college still stood behind Leonard and Howard even after all the damage that had happened. He could only assume that is was because Leonard had recently made a landmark discovery with his particle theory. While Howard had come up with a solution to get the mar's rover back up and running again. Both made significant career altering break throughs and the college did not want to lose them.

He walked into the apartment and sat at the desk. He opened his laptop and re-read over his counter paper on Leonard's was nearly finished. All he had to do was finish his dissection of the 'evidence' that Leonard used to back up his theory before he submitted it. Of course, he also wrote it similar to another scientist, so that no one could point a finger at him for starting the downward spiral of Leonard's career. This paper would start the feeding frenzy of the sharks. All it took was for one person to prove that another scientist was incompetent, then all the other scientists would join in the frenzy of ruining the incompetent scientist's career. Effectively ending Leonard's career. Of course the man could find other means to support himself, but as a failed researcher he would always be tormented by other scientists. He would always be dogged by his failure.

Sheldon rounded off his paper, reading it over several times to ensure that all his signature logic techniques were no longer present before he sent it off under a false email address to a prominent scientist who would have no problem publishing someone else's work if it made him look better. Which worked to Sheldon's benefit. He save a draft on the email address before he ended private browsing. That way no one would ever know what he had done even if they looked at his for evidence. Not that they would ever suspect him. He checked the time and decided he had a chance to put into place the other part of his plan.

He walked into his room and pulled out four very tiny speakers before he headed into Leonard's room. He punched a hole into each of the upper corners of the room with push pin and pushed the tiny wireless speakers into the holes. He tapped the wall, wiggling the speakers down a bit into the holes, so if a person looked into the corners, they wouldn't be able to see the speakers. He made sure to connect wireless receivers to the speakers before doing so. Now, he would be able to drive Leonard's subconscious insane with self doubt, which in turn would hopefully drive the man to suicide.

Sheldon left the room and was in the kitchen by the time Leonard and the rest of the gang falling in behind him as they entered the apartment. He gave Raja a nod before returning to opening his mountain dew. It was like his own person vice. While he desire something stronger, he was too smart to fall for such a folly. He needed his wits about him and alcohol or anything else would take away his ability to do so. For now he would keep to caffeine and sugar. Simple things like that. He walked over to his spot, sitting beside Raja as Howard and Leonard spoke about the new comic books that would be coming out soon. Sheldon mostly tuned that out as he watched the T.V. He really didn't want to converse with them, since he had nothing really pleasant to say at that point.

"So...Sheldon...How's...uh...How's Penny?" Leonard's whiny voice asked, breaking through the dialog of the TV. Sheldon's hand flexed on the bottle of mountain dew in his hand before he turned his head slowly towards Leonard. He stared at him, noting that Leonard glowed softly from the bioluminescence, before he spoke in a surprisingly dark tone.

"You do not need to concern yourself with how she is doing nor do I think it is a good idea to ever bring up her condition in my presence." He returned to look at the TV, hoping that was the end of it. But of course it was not, he was after all, dealing with lower life forms.

"Come on Sheldon it has been like, a month since the accident. Come on, you have to forgive us some time. I mean come on, it's not like she's dead." Howard said with a nervous chuckle. Sheldon felt coolness run down his hand. He looked down and found his hand balled into a fist and the plastic bottle crushed in his grip. He stood up and threw the rest of the bottle into the trash before he washed his hand, grabbed his laptop and went into his room.

Closing the door behind him, he leaned against the door. He couldn't believe the audacity of the man. Bernadette had already forgiven Howard for the accident, saying she understood that it was an accident. Most likely Howard had fed her some line about how he tried to fix it before Sheldon and Penny came into the room. It didn't matter. No, he would ruin them and make sure they felt pain while he did so. He walked to his bed and sat down. It seemed he would have to kick start his plan sooner then he wanted to. He logged onto the Age of Conan server and began to look for a powerful female character that was inactive for over 3 years. After finding one, he acquired the password and altered all the information so he could work it. It was easy for him to hack into servers and databases. He only did so with a purpose though and right now his purpose was to destroy the lives of his two former friends for causing damage to Penny.

'Penelope' He thought softly. For a moment he stopped. He never honestly thought about how much she meant to him until she was in that hospital bed, hooked up to tubes and machines to keep her alive. Memories flashed before his eyes. The first time they met, their prank war, him trying to train her, the paintball wars and all the things she had ever done for him. He grabbed his hair as he recalled how special she always made him feel. She was always pushing back when he was being stubborn and harsh, yet she was always compassionate and willing to help him. She was special to him. He was her Whack-a-doodle. She teased him and made fun of him in a way he found amusing and not hurtful. She was the first true friend he had and the only person he ever would admit to having feelings for. He curled over his laptop as he squeezed his eyes shut as his eidetic memory played the accident over and over again. The curse of an eidetic memory was that he could never forget, no matter how much he wanted to; no matter that he would forever be able to remember the look of pain that crossed her face. The sound of fear in her voice. Her crumpled form under his. He would never be able to forget.

He jerked up right and began to work harder. He threw himself into make his character the most desirable on the game and then make Howard think he was lucky enough to land a girl like 'her'. In reality it was Sheldon using highly advance, self developed voice masking software. He made his voice sound like a husky female. Something that seemed to make males desire his character more. If anyone listened in, they would hear him speaking normally, but if they heard him through the game, he sounded like 'Stephanie', a stay at home accountant. He just had to wait till he was popular enough to simply walk up to Howard and lead the man into his own destruction.


	4. Live Feed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Howard is first on the list.

Sheldon sat by Penny's bed side, listening to the rhythmic bounce that came from the heart monitor. It was his weekly visit with her. He spoke to her. Nothing serious or over her head, but of silly stupid things. Like how his day was going, how he was feeling about still being Leonard's room mate and how much he missed her. While he knew that it was illogical to assume that a woman in a coma could actually hear his words, he found that he needed to try anything to get her to wake up. Anything at all. Even the irrational talking to the comatose method. He just wanted her back. Wanted that lively, vivid and in-your-face attitude that came with Penny.

He stood up and left, making sure to tuck Penny in before he left. His ritual was the only way he stayed completely sane though all of this. He knew he could easily slip deeper into the darkness. But so long as Penny remained with brain activity he would be fine. But the same could not be said about Leonard and Howard. It had been two weeks since he had started his plan. Leonard was truly glowing now. Not that he noticed and everyone was too afraid that he was radioactive to tell him this. Howard seemed too amused by it to tell Leonard either. Not that that was going to save Howard from his down fall. Now, that was happening tonight. That is why he was in Penny's hospital room. To have an alibi and to remember why he was doing all this work.

Howard, three days ago, took the bait account. It was really too easy to get the man to fall into this trap. It seemed the man never learned from his mistakes. This time, it was going to be so much worst. He was going to make it so that Bernadette received a very very explicit text message that would play off the sound of Howard dirty talking to a character on Age of Conan. Then it would all spiral deeper. He paused in the doorway of hospital before he simply headed out. He was going to go to an internet cafe nearby, that way it would be harder to track what he was doing. A general IP address was the best way to go. Sheldon smirked darkly as he checked the time. 6:50pm. He had a date with Howard set up at 7pm, the exact time Bernadette would start her shift at the cheesecake factory. It would be the perfect set up. He would make it so that Bernadette received an anonymous video message on her phone of what occurred between them. It would be real time as well. There will only be pieces of what he was doing. He already had pre-recorded responses he found online at the many porn sites that littered Howard and Leonard's computer history. For smart guys, they sure did not understand the art of using Private Browsing.

His made his character walk into the forest just outside the town. Howard's character was already waiting there. Sheldon made sure his headphones were in. He tested his program for sending pre-recorded responses by sending an audio file labeled 'Husky Hello'. It would be sent through his voice masker in order to make it sound like it was the same person saying it. He waited for a moment before he heard Howard respond in kind. A smirk pulled to life on Sheldon's face. It worked. It worked perfectly. Sheldon was more proud of the fact that he had got Howard into his trap then actually getting the programming to work. The science of it all had always been his forte, his area of expertise. He was a genius after all. It was human nature that foiled him. He had worried for a moment that Howard would some dreg up some kind of morality between the time they set up this date to today. But it seemed that he could count on Howard to be a pig when it came to women.

"How was your day, Mi'lady?" Howard's sickeningly husky tone said into his ear. Sheldon was indifferent to the tone for the most part, but he couldn't help but think about all the time the man tried to pick up woman with that tone. No wonder the man couldn't get women. Except he got Bernadette some how. Not that that was going to last much longer. Not if this plan moved like it should.

"Very good, shall we play a better game?" Sheldon some how had managed to find that little file on Youtube. It was a great find. It was under a video Label 'Truth and Dare, the beginning'. A useless title, but it gave him some of the audio file he had. He pressed record on one of the background files, selecting the area of the screen in which the game was playing. He made sure it was clearly Howard's character.

"I am all for it. Shall we begin to play like we planned?"

"Of course." Sheldon typed up a Howard's username, sending it after a small pause through the voice program. "Wolowizard" echoes seductively through to Howard. The wizard character seems to get excited because it starts to bounce on the screen. It was a good thing that Sheldon did not have to say much of anything in order for this to work. He would not have been able to do his plan in such a public place. Thankfully his genius made up for all the unforeseen parameters.

"I'm in my room naked right now." Howard's voice said through Sheldon's headphones. Sheldon's eyes darkened with rage for a moment as his eyelid came to rest at half mass. He did not want to listen to this, but he had to in order to make sure that Penny was avenged and so that he got his revenge. He was willing to listen to this sickening display in order to ruin Howard's life. Well, he was only providing the ammunition for Howard to destroy his own life. This was all Howard's own doing. Just like the man had tried to ruin Sheldon's time in the lab, Howard was ruining his own life but falling into his own tricks.

"I am laying on my bed, waiting for you." Was what the audio file said. He made sure that his system was still recording before he allowed for Howard's panting and groans to echo into his ears. It was driving him mad, but all he could recall was the lock of hair on Penny's face as she laid in that bed. Her life was wasting away as she laid there. All because of this pathetic excuse of a man who had it all but still wanted more.

"Feel me come to you, running my hand up along your thigh." Sheldon watched as the Wizard character came up to his scantily cladded warrior. The characters on the screen moved closer. Sheldon was running a program that allowed his warrior character to do all the sexual motions necessary.

"Oh, that feels so good. Feel me wrap my hands around you, squeezing a bit, playfully of course." Why there were videos of two people having sex over Skype on the internet, Sheldon had no idea. But they helped him with all of this. It would have been more difficult if Skype had never come to play a part of long distance relationships. His warrior character rubbed itself against Howard's. There were strange sounds coming over his headphones, which he figured were from Howard touching himself. He was glad that he was able to just be analytical about all this, or else he would have thrown up his lunch by now. But his mind was focused on the task at hand.

"Yeah, so good baby. Feel me jump in your hold while reaching over and grabbing your breast, squeezing it and roll that lovely nipple around."

"Oh Howard! More. Feel my hand rub and down you, stroking you. I need more."

"Oh I will give you more baby. Feel my hand run down your stomach to play with your belly button, teasingly."

"Yes! Like that baby! Feel me stroke you quicker." Sheldon stopped the recording and sent it to Bernadette. It was enough evidence to get the girl to leave work and head over to Howard's place. He made sure to add a message saying 'Look what he is doing while you are at work right now'. He worked in the back ground as the two character continued to fornicate on the screen. He made sure to click on all the appropriate audio files as he activated the live streaming video camera in Howard's room. Sheldon smirked as he watched Howard work himself on the video. It would take Bernadette exactly five minutes to get to Howard's place. All he had to do was stall Howard for that long. Which was a daunting task, considering how he over heard Penny and Bernadette talking about how Howard was very...quick to give into lust. He was not allowing other people to see the video just yet. He wanted it to start when Bernadette entered the home. That way they got the best part of the entire event.

"Feel me move my fingers into you, pushing them softly but firmly." Howard's voice cut through his inner thoughts for a moment. Sheldon mentally rolled his eyes. He may not be well versed in coitus but he knew enough to know there was no such thing as soft and firm. It was a contradiction that came from language, not from physical.

"Watch me arch into you. God, Wolowizard!" He made sure to send part of the audio file right before he sent to the username. It had enough of a pause to make it seem like his character was breathless. There was a chuckle. Sheldon noticed that Bernadette entered the house in a storm. Sheldon activated the live streaming and sent out a mass email from an isolate IP address to the entire University Graduate Program.

"Please, Babe call me Howard."

"HOWARD!" Bernadette's voice screamed through Sheldon's headphone. The Wizard stopped moving on the screen before vanishing. The connection to the game was disconnected. For a good reason. Sheldon watched as Howard scrambled to toss his now closed laptop one side to hide the evidence of what was going on.

"Bernadette! What are you doing here?" He asked, fear laced in his tone. Sheldon crossed his arms and just allowed himself to enjoy Howard suffering. He licked his lips for a moment, as if Howard's anguish was pliable. He laughed to himself, enjoying the look of shock on Howard's face. The camera zoomed in the scene. Sheldon check and smirked as his computer told him there were at least five other people watching this as well. Sheldon was still recording, because he was going to upload this onto youtube.

"I got a message that showed you being intimate with a warrior on Age of Conan! Again Howard! How could you?!" She asked, clearly upset. Her face was screwed up and tears were streaming down the sides of her face. Sheldon felt some pity for what he was doing to Bernadette. She was innocent in all of this, but in a reality he was saving her from having to get a divorce. At least now she would realize that howard would never change. Cheaters never change their ways.

"Bernadette. It's not what you think. I was just messing around. It means nothing. It is just harmless fun." He said with a small laugh. Sheldon shook his head at this. It was always a game to Howard. It was never serious for him. Yet the choices he made had serious consequences.

"Am I not enough for you! I am real! We have sex whenever you want but you still mess around online! I can't do this! I can't have a man who needs someone online instead of a real life woman!" She snapped at him as she tore off her engagement ring and threw it at him. Howard struggled to catch it before he ignored it and moved to Bernadette, a look of shock on his face.

"No Bernadette! I can be better. Please, it was just one slip up. Please. I can be better!" He was on his knees, staring at her with a pleading look. Bernadette was not having it at all. She shoved him away from her.

"No it's not! I gave you a second chance already Howard! With that Orc under the bridge in the same game! No! I can't do this anymore. I can find someone who will be faithful to me. Someone who doesn't need a game to make them feel fulfilled!" She snapped, her eyes flashing with rage. Howard made a move to grab her again only to meet her fist. She was a small woman, but the anger behind the punch was more then enough to knock Howard to the floor.

Sheldon looked positively gleeful as he watched Bernadette storm out of the room. He watched as Howard broke down into tears, beating the floor with his fist. Sheldon continued to record for several more minutes, just enjoying the pain that Howard was suffering. To have lost both love and a life partner all at once. The pain was going to be worse once the man came to realize just how much damage had actually been done. As it stood ten people knew at the college and soon the entire internet would as well. Sheldon stopped recording and uploaded the video onto Howard's youtube account. He had managed to break that password a while ago. What better way to add insult to injury. The whole world who know and it would be on Howard's own account. Once it was up, there was no way to undo it. Sure, Howard could take it down, but the internet would was notorious for saving video that were particularly humorous. Sheldon finished up his work and closed the laptop. Howard's reputation was destroyed. His life was destroyed.


	5. The Beginning of the Fallout

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everything begins to fall apart or fall into place, depending on the side of the equation you are looking at.

Sheldon sat in his house, staring at the wall across from him. It had been four days since Bernadette had broke of her engagement with Howard. It was only an hour or two later that the pair learned that their breakup had gone viral. Howard was not only a laughing stalk in the college but he was a joke in the real world as well. It seemed that show called Tosh.O had picked up the video and let the entire United States in on Howard's problem. It had taken two days for Howard to finally crack and hide away in his house, only letting Raja and Leonard in to see him. Sheldon knew that if he made an effort to see the other male that he would also be welcomed. But he made it clear that he was not going to be taking part in the male bonding experience of helping the engineer get over the break up with Bernadette and the subsequent public fall out.

Yet that was not the reason why he was sitting in his house, staring blankly at the wall in front of him. The last four days had been trying for him, not only because he had to deal with an increasingly paranoid Leonard living in the apartment, but just a couple of hours ago he received a call that the night before Penny had flat lined. For just a second, she had been gone. She had died and almost left him here alone. That is why he was sitting in the house, staring at the wall. His brilliant mind seemed to be eerily silent as something sinister came up and began to color his rationale in a muted scale with highlights of angry reds. His revenge was going too slowly. His methodical desire to pick the men apart piece by piece was taking too long. He needed to speed up the process and that meant placing more time in helping his plan along. He needed to start making Leonard think he was going mad everywhere. That meant bugging his work space, his car and the like. Sheldon needed Leonard to think that every time he was alone, his mind started to whisper things to him.

Sheldon stood up in one fluid motion, grabbing his messenger bag and leaving the house. Sheldon had begun to think that maybe he shouldn't be thinking such dark thoughts in that house. Strange as it would sound to anyone who knew him, but he did not want to taint the homie atmosphere of the house with his plot of revenge. He could confine that kind of stuff to the basement and be fine with it, but to sit and brood about it in the living room was taking it too far. At least to Sheldon. He had begun to equate the house to a place of hope. It was his strong desire that if Penny made it out of her coma that she would live there with him. That is how he saved part of himself from being taken over by the growing darkness in his heart. Penny was the only thing that kept him from spiraling out of control.

He had tasted the power of his genius, tasted what he could do to others that hurt him. He knew now that he could even go as far as to kill Leonard with his own hands and get away with it. But he wasn't going to do that. No, for Penny he was going to make them kill themselves. He was going to drive them mad and make them want to end their pathetic existences. Sheldon's hands tightened on the straps of his messenger bag as he walked quickly to the college. Leonard was there already, still working on trying to salvage his career, which was on the downward spiral as well since all his work was being called into question.

Physics Today had published a paper that took Leonard's recent discovery apart, showing off all the flaws in Leonard's conclusion. Sheldon had pretended to be focused on a problem when Leonard announced his upset over this situation. When asked what he thought he merely said that it was Leonard's fault for publishing sub-par work in the first place. Leonard had looked upset, but only mildly so since he expected such things from Sheldon.

Sheldon walked into college, heading straight to Leonard's office, knowing the researcher was in the laboratory. He walked in casually, knowing it was normal for people to see him enter Leonard's office. It was amusing to him that being a person with such strange quirks allowed him a lot of freedom from questioning. No one questioned his actions, they just shrugged it off. He closed the door behind him, waited before he systematically did the same thing he had done to Leonard's bedroom to the office. He made sure to leave everything the way it was before he paused and set up a prank to cover up the reason why he was in Leonard's office.

Plus it would make Leonard lower his guard around Sheldon more. Leonard had been on guard ever since the accident, for good reason. But if Sheldon pulled a prank on Leonard, the other man would think Sheldon had forgiven him. Giving Sheldon even more leeway to invoke his plan. No one suspected that he was working on a way to destroy the two scientist. Not a single person.

Sheldon walked out of the office, checking his watch to see that it was time to join his small group of people for lunch. It would be a good way to gather information on Leonard's state of mind as well as see how Howard was bearing under the public mockery. He stopped by his office to drop his bag off before heading to the cafeteria. Sheldon grabbed his typical food items and sat in his typical seat. He was soon joined by Raja and Leonard. Leonard looked more haggard and tired. It was clear the other man had also lost some weight since his clothes hung a little looser on him. The whispering in his bedroom and his career taking a turn for the worst was wearing down on him. It was no doubt helped along by Leonard's mother who had called just a week ago to let Leonard know how disappointed she was in his inability to properly do a research paper.

"Dude, you need to eat something." Raja said, clearly concerned for his friend who was simply moving his food around his plate. Leonard made an pathetic effort to eat, picking and eating in random frequencies. Sheldon looked at Leonard before returning to eat his meal.

"I know, I just feel like I have lost something, you know? I mean I have had people try and pick apart my work, but this was just…I don't know malice. The guy who wrote it just dissected my paper with a precision of a brain surgeon." Leonard said morosely, pushing his peas off to one side. He didn't seem to want to look up. It was just then that Sheldon looked around. He frowned a bit, noticing quite a large number of people staring at Leonard. He looked at Leonard before returning to his meal, knowing that if he was eating it would hide the smile that was springing to life. It seemed that Leonard's glowing had finally caught quiet a bit of attention. People were backing away and moving tables to avoid sitting to close to Leonard. Sheldon was glad that things were working out in his favor.

Leonard seemed to finally clue into what was going out, because he scowled a bit before standing up and dumping his tray, slamming it down on the top of the trash can where it was suppose to be. He walked back to the table.

"I am going home early. Sheldon, do you want to ride home with me?" Leonard asked, making it clear he didn't care if Sheldon decided to stay or leave. Sheldon shrugged and stood up.

"I suppose since I have nothing else of importance to do, I can return home early as well." Sheldon said in a nonchalant tone. He was fine with going home early. Plus it offered him a chance to bug Leonard's car as well. Sheldon walked to his office, grabbing his things and headed out to meet Leonard by his car. He pulled his cellphone and began to rewrite the programming he had used for the speaker system. He designed the speakers in Leonard's room to play whenever he was alone in his room. He planned on doing the same with the speakers he set up in Leonard's office and car.

He looked up from his phone when he heard snickering. A group of students were laughing at Leonard, who was struggling to get his bag over his arm as he stormed towards the car. Sheldon merely rose one of his brows at this, which caused Leonard to snap 'not now' at him as he passed by. Sheldon saved his work on the phone, getting into the car. He knew it was to be another long tense car ride, but there was nothing he could do about that. Especially since he had plans to think about. Everything else came second.

"Howard is thinking about moving out of Pasadena. His mother was talking about moving to Florida." Leonard said suddenly, breaking the silence. Sheldon looked up from his phone for a moment.

"Really? Well, I can only hope that Florida will offer a better chance at a mediocre life then Pasadena." Sheldon said in a condescending tone. He was glad that Howard was moving away, but that did take away from his plots for revenge. He certainly couldn't drive Howard to the brink of suicide. However it did allow for him to place all his focus on Leonard. Plus, Penny would be safer with only one of the people who caused the accident out of the state.

"Seriously? That is what you have to saw about one of our friends leaving? Did his friendship mean nothing to you at all?"

"Forgive me Leonard, if I do not place value in people, much less people who did not even bother to go as far as they could in the educational system." Sheldon snapped back as they pulled up to the apartment building. Leonard shut off the car before just getting out and stomping off to the apartments, leaving Sheldon in the car. Sheldon sat in the car for a moment before a small smirk played on his lips. He looked all around the car for a moment.

"That was easier to accomplish then I had originally thought" He said, dark amusement in his tone as he set to work. Systematically he installed the tiny speakers in the driver side headrest. All in under a minute. Sheldon got out of the car and slammed the car door behind him. He was tempted to whistle at his success but since he had a thing about whistling he knew that would be severely out of character and out raise proverbial red flags should he be caught. So he whistled in his head as he walked towards his apartment, comforted in the fact that everything was following his plan with little to no hiccups.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Unedited at this point


	6. And the World Shall Burn

Two weeks have passed since he finished his bugging of Leonard's spaces. Sheldon was already starting to see Leonard start to fray at the seams. The other man was more jumpy and on edge. He tried to find a way to gain some kind of reassurance from any source. He asked every now and again if anyone heard anything weird in his office, car, or his room. Each time he got a resounding No as well as strange looks. The bioluminescence had also saturated Leonard's system enough for the college to get really concerned that he had radiation poisoning. They even sent over a County Medical Health expert to check everyone for radiation poisoning. Claiming that it was needed just in case the machine had cut into any of the radioactive materials that were used for testing. They gave Leonard a very weird look when he was tested negative for irradiation. It was a great day. It couldn't get much better than this.

Sheldon was very pleased with the way things were going. Howard had tucked tails and ran away to Florida as soon as his mother bought the sold the old house. The university didn't care much, though it seemed they were rather relieved that the man chose this route. It meant that the University no longer had a serious liability on their hands. It also mean that they didn't have to deal with Howard constantly calling in sick either. Things had gotten to the point that Howard couldn't show his face anywhere without getting laughed at, especially at the university. His mother couldn't tolerate it any longer. So she made sure to sell the house quickly, and cheaply. Then they left like thieves in the night. Leonard had been heartbroken about losing one of his close friends, but his sorrow only furthered Sheldon's plans.

"Leonard?" Sheldon said in a calm monotone. He was pleased to see Leonard jump and whirl around, eyes wide with fear. Sheldon knew the man worried that Sheldon's voice was disembodied. Sheldon merely raised a brow at Leonard, watching the other man struggle to compose himself.

"Today is Wednesday, that mean it is comic book day. Shall we proceed?" He asked, keeping his face schooled to blank. They still did the same schedule over and over again, Leonard seemed to grasp onto this routine tightly because it was normal. It was standard and unchanging. It helped the man cope with the downward spiral he was on. His career was in shambles, his sanity was questionable and he was being avoided by everyone. Sheldon's plan was working perfectly.

They went about their regular routine of the comic book store, Raja even showing up at the store. Sheldon felt bad for Raja. He was an innocent bystander in all of this. But Raja seemed just fine now that Steward was willing to be Howard's replacement. It seemed like a match made in heaven for the both of them. Sheldon watched Leonard out of the corner of his eyes. He took pleasure in watching Leonard struggle to strike up a conversation with his own nerdy peers. He looked back at the comics before him, readily going through them to see if there were any he needed to complete his collections.

The rest of the day went about pleasantly, at least for Sheldon. Leonard was growing closer and closer to the finale that Sheldon wanted. Everything was looking up. So that is why the events of that next morning blindsided Sheldon.

It was a typical morning. He got up and proceeded with his routine. He was dressed and ready to go long before Leonard crept out of his room. Sheldon no longer needed Leonard to go places, since he had achieved his driver's license a while ago and was driving Penny's car -after getting the engine checked of course-. He headed out to the hospital, his weekly meeting with Penny has been scheduled to Thursday morning. He was enjoying himself immensely. He was so happily he was practically beaming. The end was near. His mission was almost done. He let himself into Penny's room and stopped dead in his tracks.

The room was empty save for a nurse that was turning the bed down. Sheldon felt fear grip his heart for a second. He kept himself calm, hoping for the best.

"Excuse me, ma'am. Where was the woman that was in this room?" He asked, confusion clear on his face. He felt hope for a moment when the woman looked at him perplexed. It wasn't sorrow. Which meant that Penny could possibly be awake. But that look of confusion dissolved into pity. His grip on the handle tightened at that.

"Oh honey, I am so sorry but she's no longer with us. Didn't the hospital call to tell you that?" She asked softly, stepping away from her task to come to his side, all sympathy. A ringing developed in Sheldon's hearing. He knew that wasn't a good sign. But it wasn't something he could help. His world tilted around him.

Gone? She was gone. The nurse was saying something else, his voice soft and sorrow filled. She was touching his arm. But he wasn't reacting at all. Penny was gone. She had been fine. She had been just fine but now she was gone. In the dead of the night Penny had departed. He felt unbelievable hurt develop in his heart. Followed closely by unbelievable rage. The rage cleared away the ringing. He could finally hear what the nurse was saying.

"It takes some time to deal with this, but it'll all work out for the best in the end" She said, trying to console him. He took a step away form her, his rage clear in his face.

"Best for who?" He hissed before turning around and storming out of the hospital. Leonard. Leonard was the cause of this. He would pay! This plan was going to end now! The man would suffer more right up until he begs for mercy! Sheldon was going to finish this. Finish it in the most vicious way possible. Penny was gone and the world was going to burn for it; starting with Leonard.


	7. The Hanging

Something nagged at the back of his mind as he sat on the bus heading to his home. He dismissed it, focusing instead on the journey to get the final piece of his plan. After putting all the necessary equipment into the basement, he had built the contraption that would put an end to Leonard. No one would know and the average Detective lacked imagination to figure out that an apparent suicide was actually a murder. It was better this way. Sheldon was tired of waiting for Leonard to end it.

Stepping off the bus, Sheldon adjusted his backpack and headed inside his house. Once in the basement, he picked up an inconspicuous looking lamp. It looked just like the one that was on Leonard table. A couple days ago, Sheldon had replaced the table with one he had built in this very basement. It had taken him so time to get all the pieces to the house in a manner that didn't rouse suspicion. Eventually the desk had been assemble. Now all that was missing was a single piece. The lamp. Putting the lamp in his bag, Sheldon headed out.

Tonight, Leonard was going to be found hanging from his bedroom ceiling. It was easy enough to set up the situation. Last week he had asked Leonard to pick up some heavy duty wire from the local hardware store, stating he needed it for an experiment. Leonard without question fetched it. Now the man was on camera purchasing the wire so it would be no surprise when Leonard was found hanging by the same said wire.

Tonight was the night. The night to end his entire plan. Surreally this was all he could get after Penny. Penny; just the thought of her made his heart clench. It too much to handle really. The bus was going to slow for him, but without getting his own car and driving, this was the best he could do for now. Once he got to his stop, he checked his watch to ensure to himself that Leonard would likely still at work.

With that thought appeased, Sheldon headed inside and set about getting everything ready for Leonard's hanging. Removing the old lamp, Sheldon places the new one into it's spot. Then with a press of the button, there was a heavy 'thunk' as the magnets connected. Everything was ready now. All he had to do was wait.

Walking out in the living room, he took his spot on the couch and turned on the TV. Star Trek was on, thankfully. So he allowed himself to fall into the Adventures of Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock. It was the episode with the tribble infestation. Cute little monstrosities. Soon enough, Leonard was home. The glasses wearing fool had his head hanging down, as though he had received the troubling news about Penny. But Sheldon dared not ask. Checking the time, Sheldon figured he had enough time to watch one more episode before he lured Leonard into a trap.

"Leonard, while we must remain within the confines of the roommate agreement, I must as that you not bang your headboard against my bed while I am asleep." Sheldon said, standing up for his seat. Leonard looked flabbergasted, his head shaking back and forth as though he was trying to clear out his ear. Sheldon waited for the theatrics to die down before

"What are you talking about?" Leonard said in that completely crazed way, as though he had no idea what Sheldon was talking about. Which Sheldon knew was the case. This was a lie to lure Leonard into his bedroom and, ultimately, his death. Sheldon came to stand in front of Leonard, face impassive.

"I am talking about the large  _thunking_  noise that emanates from your room whenever you go to your room for the night."

Leonard looked at Sheldon like he was seeing a crazy person. Feigning annoyance, Sheldon walked to Leonard's room, knowing the other would follow.

"When you throw yourself down on your bed for bed you headboard hits the wall between our two rooms."

Leonard rolled his eyes and threw himself down. Silence. With triumph Leonard got up.

"See, there is no sound Sheldon."

Swiftly, Sheldon jerked the wire noose down from the fan and slid it over Leonard's neck before the shorter man had a chance to ask what was happening. Removing the remote form his pocket, he pressed the button just light enough to tighten the wire and send Leonard to the tops of his toes. Leonard's hands instantly went to the wire, trying to remove it. The beautiful thing about wire was the way it rested back against the skin once it was taunt, unlike rope which protruded.

"Sh-el-don" Leonard squeezed out, fear in his gaze. Sheldon stared at him impassively once more.

"Did you really think I'd let your transgressions against Penny go so easily? Let you live your life while Penny lost hers?" Sheldon knew there would be little Leonard could say to make this point moot. Sheldon looked up at the fan.

"I am glad I pushed the land lord to move the ceiling can away from the bed. It is never smart to sleep with large objects over yourself, especially since we live in an Earthquake prone state. It especially makes it easier for me to prolong your suffering. You can't stand on the bed and prevent your own death."

The noose tightened around Leonard's neck as the wire recoiled backwards towards the ceiling fan. The wires moved through the fan's post, along the ceiling, down the inside of the wall, up the legs of the desk and recoiled into a loop hidden inside the lamp. It was an ingenious system of pulleys that made it easy to slowly strangle the life out of Leonard. The wire moved slowly, pulling Leonard's feet off the floor with the man flopped around like a fish, too much in shock to do much else. No one would ever believe Sheldon had did all this. Who would? Sheldon was the 'dumbass' who everyone thought couldn't function outside of the lab. Too bad he would die with this secret on his heart. Killing was a logical step since Leonard wasn't willing to do it himself.

Slowly pressing the remote's button, the wire rewound, pulling Leonard further and further into the air. So immersed in the glory of completing his plan that he never heard the front door open or the footsteps that came to the doorway. Leonard's glass slipped down off his face as he jerked his leg up and down, desperately trying to escape.

"MoonPie, don't do this"

Everything in Sheldon froze, from his muscles to his mind when he heard that soft whisper behind him.


	8. Smolder and Smoke

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This won't be the end. I read over this ending I had previously and I kinda hate it. So I will be posting another chapter or 2

Slowly he turned around and faced the door. There, leaning heavily against the door frame, was a very pale Penny. Every muscle in tensed, unable to believe what he was seeing. Physically, it should be impossible for her to move on her own. Yet, there she was. Something wasn't right. Maybe he had lost his mind. That was probable. More likely than Penny standing there – slowly sliding down the door frame.

"Penny!" Came Raja's voice from the hallway.

"No, don't come over here Raja. Leonard isn't dressed yet. Sheldon is _righting_ some poster while he gets dressed." Penny's voice was raspy, her skin shallow and clammy with sweat. It was clear that she wasn't supposed to be moving just yet. Raja must have been the culprit of Penny showing up. Deliberately, Sheldon pressed the down button rather hard, dropping Leonard from the ceiling. His eyes stared at Penny, drinking her appearance in. She was alive. In his mind, he pulled up the exchange with the nurse. The woman had said that Penny was no longer with them. His mind assumed that it was that common phrase instead of a literal meaning. Penny was no longer with that hospital. She must have been transferred. That was 3 days ago. After months of being in a coma. Regardless of the best physical therapist in the world, she really shouldn't be moving.

Looking down to ensure that Leonard was breathing, he walked to Penny's side and slowly helped the girl up.

"You shouldn't be moving."

"You shouldn't be doing _that_  either." She muttered, leaning all her weight on him stumbling over her own feet. Raja was there with a wheelchair. The man must have been bullied into bringing Penny here. Why, Sheldon wasn't sure. Why would she leave the facility and come here of all places? He would have to ask her later. Now, he helped her back into the chair.

"Leonard and Howard are responsible for your current state." He hissed, his eyes looking back at the room behind him. The task was still incomplete, the risk of being arrested and thrown in jail was too great to leave now. He tapped his fingers absently against his pant leg, considering his next move. A soft hand took a hold of his.

"Raja told me, Sweetie." Her voice was a balm on his soul. She was alive. She was alive.

"Then how could you…" He trailed off, not wanting to clue Raja into what was happening in the other room.

"Because I would have  _lost_  a lot more than just my strength." He didn't understand what she meant. But there was still the risk she would lose more if he didn't do something. Anything to keep Leonard from telling anyone what happened. That and his desire to punish was still there. Warring with his need to protect Penny, but still there.

"Raja, I believe Penny is ready to return to her facility." Sheldon drank in the features of Penny's face before he turned on his heels to deal with Leonard.

"Pasadena Rehabilitation Institute. Bring Leonard with you." Penny called, making Sheldon pause. He gave a firm nod over his shoulder before he walked back into Leonard's room. Sheldon took a seat in the chair, waiting for the sound of the door to close. A stuttering breath escaped him.

The feeling in his heart was overpowering. Relief, Joy, Fear, and Anxiety ate at him. Leonard began to move, taking in gasping, painful breaths from the floor. The man jerked up and looked around wildly.

"How are you feeling Leonard?" Sheldon asked conversationally. As if he hadn't just tried to kill his former friend. Leonard just breathed, struggling even more due to his asthma. Feeling gregarious, Sheldon tossed the man the inhaler that was on the night stand. Two puffs later and the man was able to speak.

"You… You just tried to kill me!" His voice was high pitched and rough – clearly from the strangulation.

"I did. A taste of what Penny experienced, I am sure. Only she was granted more pain in her near killing."

Leonard face went ashen, to be blatantly told that this was revenge for the events that lead to Penny's coma was not what he had been expecting. The man's open and closed – like a fish gasping for air. Sheldon waited, wanted to see Leonard reaction once it all became clear.

"You were going to kill me…."

"Because you put the woman I love in the hospital. You put her life at risk because you felt you deserved something. Instead of waiting like an adult, you lashed out like a child. I reciprocated." Sheldon picked an invisible piece of lint off his pants, mentally recalling Penny's face just moments ago to prevent himself from finishing the job with his bare hands.

"But I wasn't…wait…did you cause Howard humiliation?" Leonard was growing sicklier in color. The lanky physicist wondered if it was because the man was realizing the lengths he was willing to go to get revenge or if it was an after effect of the hanging.

"But of course." Sheldon stood up, done with this conversation. He had preparation to make for Penny. Hands clasped behind his back, Sheldon walked to stand over the fallen man.

"Make no mistake Leonard, I would have let you die. If Penny hadn't come into the room, the entire world would have thought you hung yourself. And if you tell anyone, I will ensure the world does think that." The sharp smell of urine permeated between them. Sheldon wrinkled his nose in disgust before heading out of the room. He paused in the door way.

"Penny requested that we go see her tomorrow at her rehabilitation. I expect you will be ready by 9 in the morning. I want to ensure her facility is adequate. Good Night."

The apartment was no longer his home. He had a home. One he had prepared for Penny. Now all he had to do was make sure his love was healthy enough to move in. His heart ached with joy at the thought of her being – one day – healthy and whole ago.


End file.
